EFTPOS launches anti-fraud measures

Payments platform eftpos will launch two new e-commerce anti-fraud tools later this year, including two-factor authentication.

The eftpos logo at a cafe shopfront.

Payments platform eftpos will launch two new e-commerce anti-fraud tools later this year, including two-factor authentication for transactions. eftpos says the move will help Australians make more secure payments online.

The announcement comes a month after eftpos announced a national QR code payments system for online shopping that takes advantage of the public’s recent take-up of QR codes for contact tracing.

That move will also see the Australian payments network able to edge in to online transactions, which until now has been dominated by global card schemes Visa and MasterCard.

The expansion of the eftpos platform brings with it security concerns that the platform seeks to eliminate ahead of time, as well as bolsters its existing platform security.

Eftpos says the vast majority (84 per cent) of reported card fraud in Australia occurs in the online environment. It says eftpos’ current e-commerce card-on-file solution has experienced zero fraud because of the low-risk approach taken to minimise risk across the ecosystem.

CEO Stephen Benton said eftpos was rolling out the e-commerce capabilities to help drive competition, provide choice and enhance online payments security.

The two new anti-fraud capabilities will be introduced by the beginning of November 2021.

There will be “network fraud scoring” to help financial institutions assess the risk associated with individual transactions. Eftpos will also introduce “eftpos Secure (EMV 3-D Secure)”, two-factor authentication for consumers, which it says helps reduce risk for both consumers and merchants.

It says these new anti-fraud tools have been in development for several years and follow the earlier introduction of enhanced security and fraud services from eftpos, including the eftpos Tokenisation service in 2016 and the upgraded Disputes and Chargebacks platform in 2017.

“The introduction of these new anti-fraud services means we can extend eftpos payment options for consumers and merchants into higher risk categories of the online payments environments with confidence, and keep driving competition in this space,” Mr Benton said.

“This is a vital step in opening-up online payment options and not repeating the mistakes of the past when e-commerce card payments were first rolled out by others, particularly at a time when more Australians are relying on the digital economy for their everyday spending.”

Mr Benton said eftpos had taken a cautious approach to its entry into e-commerce, with the new anti-fraud tools and capabilities being in development for the past few years.

“The introduction of these enhanced anti-fraud tools completes the market-wide enablement of omni-channel processing support for purchase transactions. This allows eftpos to support transformational digital commerce experiences for all Australians,” Mr Benton said.

eftpos launched its first e-commerce service in August last year for Australian businesses that accept recurring card-on-file transactions from their customers.

It also has upgraded its network to support deposit & withdrawal messages, enabling real-time transfer of funds for person-to-person payments, business-to-consumer and government-to-consumer disbursements.